Doormat

My aunt is a woman who has a lot of self-confidence, and has no care for what others think of her. One day we were driving through the congested streets of Montpelier and I was venting to her. My thirteen-year-old self was venting about the hardships of my life, and how I felt betrayed by one of my best friends because she ditched me to go hang out with some other girls. I was frustrated because this happened often and I felt used. One minute she was there, then the next she was gone. At this point of our drive, we were on the highway and it was easier for my aunt to pay attention to me. When I had finished ranting and had taken a deep breath, she turned to me and said, “Stop being such a freaking doormat”.

It took a second or two to let the words sink in because I’m pretty sure she replaced “freaking” with a much higher rated word than the P-G one I have inserted here. When I finally realized what she was saying, I was a little confused. I asked, “What do you mean, a ‘doormat’? I’m not a doormat!” She replied with something along the lines of, “You let people walk all over you. You need to grow a backbone, and stop letting this friend use you. You are a smart and beautiful girl and you need to stick up for yourself.” I had never heard anyone say something like this to me before, and so bluntly, but it changed the way I saw things. Because of what my aunt said to me that day, now I’m not that soft small doormat that I used to be, I am the door. If someone wants to come in and walk through, they have to confront me first. Almost like one of those old doors where you have to work the knob a little before it will open for you. I will never forget what my aunt said to me, she is still someone I look up to and admire, and I am grateful I have such a role model. I rarely let people walk all over me anymore, I’m and no longer a “freaking doormat”.